American Aurors
by Claude Amelia Song
Summary: When Percy Weasley takes Bartemius Crouch place in an official meeting with American officials he has a startling revelations in the form of the American Aurors accompanying the MACUSA official. In England, vampires were social pariah, to discover that in the States they could be Aurors, confused him. They were too dangerous for the society, were they not?


**Round 2**

**Ilvermorny: Year 5**

**Theme: Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures**

For your theme, look at how the wizarding society treats those that are different from themselves (specifically creatures or those that are only considered 'near human').

BUZZWORDS That I used.

1\. Discrimination- England

2\. Treatment of magical creatures- and some other parts of europe

4\. Suppression of another beings rights- in England.

5\. Division of society

7\. Dark creatures- Vampires

**Main prompt: 8. [Character] Percy Weasley**

Optional Prompts: 3. [Quote] "If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals." - Sirius Black (GOF)

4\. [Occupation] Auror

Words :1922

**Betaed by Oni, Sarah, Amanda and Claire. Thank you all so much!**

**Author's note: **I was told by my by American friend Assistant Director is what they call Deputy Head in States sometimes so I decided to use both since Percy knows the term used in MACUSA, but at the same time thinks in British language.

* * *

"Welcome, to the British Ministry of Magic, Mr. Walker!" Percy said brightly, greeting the Assistant Director of the Department of International Magical Relations. Minister Fudge was late, and with his own boss on sick leave, that left Percy as the highest authority available to greet the Deputy of the American Omologue Department.

"Thank you, Mr...?" The man was looking at him expectantly, frowning a little.

"Weasley, sir. Percy Weasley. I'm Mr. Crouch's assistant. The Minister will be here shortly." He extended a hand for the man to shake.

"Wait, Jones. How do we know he is who he says he is?" A female voice came from the left and for the first time Percy saw that the Assistant Director was not alone, but rather accompanied by ten Aurors. They had been standing in the shadows, silent and unnoticeable.

"You have to excuse Selene, Mr. Weasley. She is the Auror in charge of my protection detail, and can be a bit overzealous at times."

Percy nodded. However, when he looked up and met her eyes, he let out an involuntary gasp. In front of him stood one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen; very pale and with startling red eyes. With horror, he realised she wasn't the only one. There were two others with similarly blood red eyes in the Auror cohort.

"Vampire!" he hissed, stepping back and pulling out his wand.

Unfortunately, that was when Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, and his new Undersecretary, Madam Dolores Umbridge, entered the Atrium with their own Auror guard and all hell broke loose.

"Vampires!" The British Aurors drew their wands, prompting the American guard to do the same.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please!" Jones Walker shouted. "They are part of my Auror guard!"

"Impossible! A creature like that in the Ministry! Atrocious!" said Umbridge, face red with fury, but at the same time frightened.

"What are you playing at, Mr. Walker?" asked Fudge, clearly making an effort to sound authoritative. One wrong move and the British Ministry could find itself at odds with MACUSA.

"I am not playing at anything, Minister Fudge. They _are _part of my Auror guard. In fact, Selene Rivera is one of the best Aurors our academy has produced in years."

"But vampires? In society? They are Dark creatures, Mr. Walker; _dangerous_ Dark creatures," said Umbridge, her tone rising. "And to bring them here, into the Ministry! They deserve to be banished!"

Jones Walker frowned, and Percy could see his eyes filling with anger. From what he knew of the man, from Mr. Crouch's little instructions and his own research, he'd worked as an Auror before transferring at International relations, so Percy supposed he'd worked hand in hand both with and against vampires.

"I would like to ask you, Madame, not to speak such things about our companions. I do not know how things work here, but they _are_ our _equals_ in the States," Mr. Walker demanded, fury radiating off him in waves.

Fudge noted this and tried to remedy the situation. "Ahem, of course. So, you see...Mr—"

"Walker," whispered Percy, but it appeared that Walker and his guard heard him say this and they didn't like what they were hearing.

"Walker, yes, Mr. Walker, you see vampires are Dark and _dangerous _creatures. We do not allow them inside our Ministry Building, nor in our society. Relations between their kind and ours is strictly forbidden."

Percy wanted to correct the Minister, but he didn't want to risk being reprimanded. It wasn't that relations were prohibited, simply socially unacceptable.

Fortunately, one of the other two vampires, a tall blonde man with somehow even redder eyes than the girl, spoke up.

"Forgive me, _Minister_," he said, and he said the word with such contempt that it made Percy shiver, "but I believe that _relationships_ are what are forbidden here, not relating to, as you say, _our kind_."

Fudge paled and rushed to correct himself. "Yes, yes, relationships, that _is_ what I meant."

"Well, you'll simply have to make an exception. Selene Rivera, Andrew Blaine—" He gestured to the man who'd corrected the Minister "—and Michael Cooper are some of the best Aurors that we have. While we do agree they are not _human_, they are _beings with human levels of intelligence and agency_, and they deserve to be treated as such. In addition, relationships between vampires and witches and wizards in the United States are completely legal."

Percy couldn't believe what he was hearing, but in a way, he understood. Looking at Selene, one couldn't tell she was a vampire except for her eyes and even then, one might think they were charms or Muggle contacts. She emanated a dangerous aura, but no more than any skilled Auror, and that commanded respect too. It was a weird feeling considering that he had been brought up to fear and avoid vampires all his life. To find that another country saw them not only differently but as equals, trusting them in positions of power, disconcerted him. Someone had to be wrong, but how could the Ministry be wrong?

Vampires were highly dangerous creatures; one need only remember the Month from Hell from several centuries ago. Mad vampires, thirsting for blood, had left destruction in their wake.

"This is madness!" Umbridge spoke again, and for once Percy wished she hadn't. "We cannot allow monsters in our country and especially in our presence! They ought to be killed!"

To Percy's surprise, it wasn't the vampires who reacted, though he noted that their expressions and body language showed they were on high alert. No, their colleagues and Mr. Walker were the ones who drew their wands and stepped forward, ready to attack.

"Now you listen here, _Madame_," said Walker, his voice barely restrained, "You will not threaten or insult my team again or you will suffer grave consequences." Seeing that the British Aurors had their wands in their hands too, he sneered. "I wouldn't recommend you doing that, boys. I have three people in my guard from the Fire Division. You'll be dead faster than you can blink."

While it was obvious that the threat passed over Fudge's and Umbridge's heads, Percy and the other Aurors gasped. MACUSA's Fire Division was the best Auror Subdivision in the world; and easily the most feared. People who went there learnt how to be faster than vampires and use the five elements to their advantage. While Percy knew the Ministry Aurors were skilled, he also knew they didn't have the same level of training. With Voldemort gone and their country barely allowing Dark creatures to exist, everything was safe.

Cornelius Fudge may have not known what the Fire Division was, but he realised it meant trouble, and Percy knew that if anything, he hated to deal with trouble.

"Please, Dolores, they _are _our guests; even if we hadn't been informed of their guard's...peculiarities." He tried to say it in his most pleasant voice, but no one was fooled.

"I personally informed Mr. Crouch about this, several months ago when it was decided that I and not my boss would come here to meet and discuss a new accord between MACUSA and the British Ministry. He told me that while you had different ways of doing things, there would be no problems. I can see now that you are even more bigoted and set on needless discrimination than he hinted at."

Percy couldn't believe that Mr. Crouch had said that. And why hadn't he mentioned it to him in his instructions?

"Speaking of Barty, where is he?" Jones Walker looked around as though hoping to see the man walking through the door any moment.

Percy sized the moment and spoke as fast as he could before the Minister or Umbridge said something even more inflammatory. "Mr. Crouch hasn't been feeling all that well lately, and this morning he informed me that he is taking some sick days to recuperate. I must apologise for not informing you sooner, but I thought that, perhaps, since your Portkey was already scheduled, you might entertain participating in the Yule Ball at Hogwarts. It happens two days from now, and your permit is for a week and a half. It is likely that Mr. Crouch will feel better by then, and you should be able to discuss what you came for."

Percy could tell Jones Walker was surprised to hear that. And with good reason— Bartemius Crouch had never taken a sick day in his life.

"Mr. Weasley, I am being honest when I say I do not want to remain in a country where not all my companions are welcomed and where some will even threaten them with death. However, for the sake of international cooperation, we will remain here and attend this Yule Ball of yours. But, if Barty is not well enough at the end of the week, we will return to the States."

Fudge nodded, turning to Percy.

"Weatherby! Contact Crouch and tell him in three days he must return to work or he will be replaced!" Then he promptly left, followed by Umbridge, who gave the vampires a last scathing glare, and finally, the Aurors followed.

"Alright." Percy tried to make his voice as pleasant as possible. "If you would just follow me, I will lead you to the hotel where you will be staying." He forced his demeanour to appear braver than he felt. He was looking anxiously at the three vampires who seemed to look even more dangerous now that he was left alone with the group in the Ministry Atrium.

"Very well, Mr. _Weasley_," Walker said, accentuating his name. "But first, let me give you a bit of advice."

Percy looked at him, startled.

"You are young and still have time to see differently. Do not let others' opinions influence yours. Use your eyes and your ears, and let experiences show you the _truth _of things."

"The Minister just has a lot on his mind at the moment and—" Percy tried, but the man didn't let him finish.

"The_ Minister_ was late to an official meeting, didn't know my name, apparently doesn't even know yours, _and_ he let his secretary throw out death threats without the slightest reprimand. If vampires are so dangerous, as I've been told _several _times, why did the Minister not provide you with any protection, hmmm?" All the American Aurors nodded in agreement. "If you were truly in the presence of dangerous creatures as they perceive my colleagues to be, wouldn't they be worried about _your _safety? It is clear that they don't care about anyone but themselves. Actions speak louder than words, after all. One can tell what sort of person he is by how he treats those he perceives as his inferiors, not his equals."

Percy frowned but said nothing. One thing was true, though. He _did_ have a lot to dwell on. But if the American Wizard was right, that meant that everything he'd ever been taught was wrong, and how could he be part of something that did wrong things? How could the Ministry be wrong?

Giving the female vampire one last look, Percy turned and started walking in front of them. With a start, he realised he had to fight to keep from blushing. She hadn't done anything monster-like. She had been...surprisingly _human__._..other than the glowing red eyes. Maybe he should start researching the matter of vampires in international context, if only to prove that the British Ministry was right, if not for anything else.


End file.
